DULWICH 115 (44.3) beat EGHAM 80 (30.1) by 35 runs

As the new Surrey Championship season began with a new sponsor in Travelbag, so a new look Dulwich side with four players making their championship debut took the field against newly promoted Egham. A low scoring match ended in victory for the home side by 35 runs.

No warm-up matches had been possible on Dulwich’s home ground due to the wet weather, and fears that the pitch might prove difficult to bat on proved well founded. Dulwich chose to bat on winning the toss, but three early wickets for Marlon Cornelius put them on the back foot. Amod Pandit followed this up by bowling a seven over spell taking two wickets and conceding only three singles. Dulwich subsided to 74 for 9 after 33.4 overs, with only Ed Stolle (11), newcomer Will Bancroft (16) and Naeem Iqbal (12) making double figures. The last wicket pair of Leon Sealy, also making his debut, and skipper Alex Gledhill then pushed the ball around sensibly, adding 41 together in 10.5 overs to lift the score to 115. Sealy was top scorer with 19, while Gledhill remained unbeaten on 17. This stand was to prove vital in the context of the match. The innings was bolstered by 24 extras.

Dulwich needed an early breakthrough, and got it in the second over when Sealy capped an impressive debut by taking a wicket with his first ball. He and Jon Lodwick proved expensive, however, conceding 34 runs off the first five overs. Gledhill kept faith with Lodwick, who repaid his skipper with wickets in his fourth and sixth overs. He bowled his ten overs unchanged, conceding only seven runs off the last seven to finish with 2-24. Another newcomer, Richard King, had entered the attack, and he also bowled his ten overs straight through. He picked up the next four wickets in 24 balls between his fourth and eighth overs, and finished with 4-25. Iqbal replaced Lodwick and took the eighth wicket with his third ball. Egham had declined from 52-2 to 62-8 in just 9.4 overs. The ninth wicket pair added 16, but there was to be no repeat of the first innings heroics as spinners Gledhill and Salaar Waqar took a wicket apiece to dismiss Egham for 80. Only 50 runs had come from the bat, 21 of them by keeper Matt Main and only one other player reaching double figures. The other 30 runs were extras, including 23 scored as wides.

Dulwich thus started their season with 20 points for a win, and will be looking to build on this next week when they travel to Camberley, who have returned to the second division after relegation from Division 1.

DULWICH 209-7 (50) lost to PURLEY 214-6 (49.5) by 4 wickets

Dulwich visited Purley in their final match of the season in Division 2 of the Ryman Surrey Championship, needing three points to ensure safety, while their opponents had to win. Both clubs achieved their goals, in a tense match that was not decided until the penultimate ball.

Dulwich were put in to bat on a damp pitch which had been left uncovered overnight, but found the conditions nowhere near as bad as they might have feared. Their aim was to score 200 runs to obtain three batting points and ensure their survival in the event of a Cheam victory over Esher. They moved steadily towards this target throughout the innings. They were led by a fine innings of 86 off 122 balls by Ed Stolle, his third half century of the season and the best score by a Dulwich player this year. He was well supported by Sam Tennant, who made 12 in a stand of 35 for the first wicket, Frankie Brown, with 26 out of 71 for the second, and Zakir Rostami, who went on to make 20 after adding 29 with Stolle for the third. The rest of the innings was dominated by keeper Ed Hopkins, who fell in the last over having made 44 off 41 balls. Dulwich reached their 200 target in the 49th over and closed on 209-7 after 50.

The Purley openers got off to a flyer as Jon Lodwick went for 29 in his first three overs, mostly edged through or slashed over the slips. But he and Naeem Iqbal removed both openers to reduce Purley to 36-2 after six overs. The third wicket pair added 50, but a wicket for Salaar Waqar and two for Stuart Ferguson pegged them back to 114-5 in the 26th over. The match hung in the balance, but Nathan Harris then joined skipper James Scott in a stand of 80 for the sixth wicket. Tight bowling by Brown, who bowled his ten overs straight through for just 27 runs, pushed them behind the required rate. But with his spell finished, and with wickets in hand, they were able to hit out in the last five overs, despite losing Scott, bowled by Alex Gledhill for 48, and victory was achieved with one ball to spare.

Purley’s victory lifted them to seventh, while Dulwich picked up four points, three for batting and one for bowling, leaving them in eighth position. They finished one point ahead of Cheam who were relegated despite winning their last two matches. Dulwich thus survived to look forward to another season in Division 2 next year.

DULWICH 164 lost to WORCESTER PARK 165-7 by 3 wickets

A depleted Dulwich side missing four first teamers went down by three wickets to Worcester Park in Division 2 of the Ryman Surrey Championship.

Dulwich were put in to bat, and got off to a bad start when Nick Hudson fell in the first over. Ed Stolle and Tom Savill had taken the score to 33 in the ninth over when Stolle was caught behind for 15. Savill followed seven overs later for 28 to make it 52-3. Michael Currey and Ed Hopkins had advanced to 70 off 21 overs when the entry of visiting skipper Joe Hill to the attack brought about an abrupt decline. He took three wickets with his first eight balls, dismissing Currey for 9 with his second ball, bowling Stuart Ferguson with his third, and having Oliver Steward caught behind in the next over. Euan Johnson followed in the same manner off Rob Waite three overs later as Dulwich lost four wickets for nine runs in 5.3 overs to make it 79-7 after 25.5 overs. It was left to Hopkins to repair the damage, which he did in masterful fashion, enjoying stands of 31 in 7.3 overs for the eighth wicket with Jon Lodwick, who made 12 off 26 balls, and 40 in seven overs for the ninth with 16 year old debutant Sameer Saleem, who also faced 26 balls for his valuable innings of 9. The last wicket pair had added 14 when Hopkins was last out for 75, scored off 73 balls, leaving Salaar Waqar undefeated on 2. Dulwich were all out for 164, leaving 6.4 of their overs unused.

Dulwich opened the bowling with Lodwick and Saleem, who both beat the bat regularly without any luck as Waite and Hill added 49 in the first ten overs. Savill came on first change and struck with his first ball, having Waite caught in the outfield for 27. He bowled his ten overs straight through, picking up two more wickets to finish with 3-32. Waqar joined the attack and also picked up an early wicket, but a steady drizzle soon began which continued on and off for the rest of the innings. This made it more and more difficult for the spinners to grip the ball. Lodwick returned to dismiss Hill for 40, and Waqar took a second wicket to finish with 2-23 off eight overs and reduce Worcester Park to 113-6 after 32. Hopes of victory were thwarted as the seventh wicket pair added 31 in six overs. The stand was broken by Ferguson, in an effective spell of 1-8 off five overs, but Dulwich were unable to make a further breakthrough and the eighth wicket pair eased to their target in 45 overs.

Dulwich picked up just three points from this match but remain in seventh place. They are now 17 points above Cheam in ninth place, who enjoyed a rain affected victory over Epsom. Dulwich therefore still need three points from their final game to ensure safety. Their opponents will be Purley, who are four points behind them in eighth place and who would need at least seven points to stay up in the event of a Cheam victory. This match will therefore be crucial for both sides.

EPSOM 212 (48) lost to DULWICH 218-3 (47) by 7 wickets

On a day when all six Dulwich league sides won, the First XI led the way, as they powered to a convincing seven wicket victory over fourth placed Epsom in Division 2 of the Ryman Surrey Championship.

Epsom chose to bat, and got off to a steady start as the openers put on 27 in 7.5 overs. James Bridgland took the first wicket in an impressive opening spell that conceded just 14 runs off six overs. Phil Edwards came in at number three and shared stands of 51 in ten overs for the second wicket with Ben Hudson and 66 in 16 overs for the third with Asim Zeb, to lift his side to 144-2. Salaar Waqar put a brake on the scoring, bowling his ten overs straight through for just 26 runs and the wickets of both Hudson and Edwards, who was third out for 66 off the last ball of the 34th over. With Waqar’s spell completed, Dulwich turned to Ed Stolle, who had kept wicket last week and now showed his versatility by entering the attack and picking up a wicket in his first over. Jon Lodwick dismissed Zeb for 31 in the next over to reduce Epsom to 157-5 after 38.2 overs. Stolle continued to wheel away at one end, taking two more wickets, while the Epsom lower order, led by Simon Rivers with 28 off 16 balls, made hay at the other end. They were especially severe on Bridgland, who went for 37 off three overs. The score had reached 210-7 after 47 overs when Stolle’s next over produced a suicidal run out off the first ball, two runs off the second, the dismissal of Rivers, brilliantly caught on the boundary by Sam Tennant off the third, and another run out off the sixth to see Epsom dismissed for 212. The last eight wickets had gone down for 68 runs in 14.1 overs, with Stolle taking 4-19 off six.

Epsom’s collapse had left Dulwich needing to score at just 4.2 runs per over, a rate they matched throughout their innings. Stolle was soon in action again, opening the batting with Tennant, who fell for 8 with the score on 22. Tom Savill joined Stolle, and together they added 84 in 18 overs for the second wicket before both fell to Hudson, with Savill going for 29, off 55 balls, and Stolle falling four overs later, having completed a fine all-round performance with 56 off 76 balls. Skipper Michael Currey and keeper Ed Hopkins thus came together with the score on 117-3, with 96 still needed off 22.4 overs. They kept the scoreboard ticking over sensibly, advancing mostly in ones and twos with the occasional four. Both also hit a six, with Currey’s coming in mid-innings and Hopkins striking his with the scores level to complete a comprehensive victory. Currey finished on 46, off 76 balls, while Hopkins needed just 54 balls for his 43.

This was Dulwich’s third win in four weeks, and their second against top four opposition. It lifts them to seventh place, one point ahead of Purley and 34 points above Cheam in ninth place. Cheam would therefore need to win both their remaining matches to catch them, but even that would not be enough if Dulwich can gain at least six bonus points from their last two games. Next week they have another home game, against Worcester Park who are fifth.

Dulwich took the last five wickets for just 14 runs to pull off a crucial 20 run victory against bottom club Ashford in Division 2 of the Ryman Surrey Championship.

Dulwich chose to bat, but found the pitch damp after recent rain with the ball not coming onto the bat. Ed Stolle was caught on the boundary for 8 with the score on 13 after 5.1 overs, but Oliver Steward and Frankie Brown lifted the score to 40 after 14.3. Brown’s dismissal for 17, off 34 balls, ushered in a turgid period of play as Steward and Matt Balch could add only 21 runs off the next 10.3 overs to take Dulwich to the drinks break at 61 with half the overs used up. Balch fell in the first over after the break, having taken 42 balls for his 7. Naeem Iqbal was promoted to number 5 in search for quick runs, and he responded by hitting 37 off 46 balls and sharing a stand of 51 in 11 overs for the fourth wicket with Steward. The opener’s vigil ended with 36 off 82 balls, and Iqbal followed in the next over to leave Dulwich on 118 for 5 after 37.1 overs. A further 27 runs were added in the next seven overs for the loss of three more wickets, with Sam Tennant falling for 7, Salaar Waqar run out without facing, and Stuart Ferguson making 16 off 24 balls. It took a few lusty blows from Euan Johnson, with an undefeated 17 off 19 balls, and 8 off 18 balls from acting skipper Alex Gledhill, to lift Dulwich to 176-9 after their 50 overs. These late runs were to prove vital in the context of the game.

If Dulwich’s total looked inadequate at the break, it seemed even more so when Iqbal was hit for 26 off his first three overs. James Bridgland at the other end provided a complete contrast, conceding only three runs off his first three and picking up the first wicket. Brown came on for the seventh over and struck with his first ball to reduce Ashtead to 29-2. Further wickets proved elusive as the third wicket pair added 62 off 13.4 overs. Waqar made the vital breakthrough, which led to another quiet period as only 18 runs came off the next 8.4 overs. Brown returned to take two wickets in three balls and reduce Ashford to 109-5 in the 29th over. Skipper Richard Mansfield survived two dropped catches in an over to lift his side to 142-5 after 37 overs, seemingly well placed with only 35 needed off 13 overs. Ferguson’s entry to the attack changed all that as he bowled Mansfield with his first ball and followed up with two more wickets in his next over. The ninth wicket pair had advanced to 156 when Iqbal was recalled to the attack, and he needed only four balls to claim the last two wickets, both bowled, and see his side to a 20 run victory. The last five wickets had gone down in just 5.4 overs, with Ferguson finishing with the remarkable figures of 3-2 off three overs, and Brown taking 3-27 off ten.

This was the second time in three weeks that Dulwich had demolished the opposition’s lower order to pull off an unlikely victory. It lifts them to eighth in the table, 17 points ahead of Cheam and 22 above Ashford, but with 20 points available for a win and three matches still to play it is not over yet. Next week they have their first home match in four weeks, when the visitors will be Epsom who are currently fourth.

@MitchamCC@DulwichHamletFC@OfficialTmufc@MitchamCC our u12s were disappointed that their 2017 game at Cricket Green was washed out; believe our u14s and u16s are playing you there this summer, looking forward to it. We should try and get a girls’ game on at a venue with such a proud history of hosting women’s cricket!

Please note that due to floor replacement at Dulwich College Sports Centre there are no indoor nets this Sunday, 18th March. We await confirmation about the 25th March. Keep an eye on e-mails and website.

@PROACTIVE_Swk@lb_southwark Exciting times as all four teams in the semifinals hail from south of the river (Richmond sort of as it’s both sides of the river). Southwark play Greenwich and Bromley take on Richmond.....

In south London? Like cricket? Lewisham cricket winter training resumes tomorrow, ages 8-14, any level, all welcome, new players particularly so. Very nice set of coaches. Based in SE6. @ me for full details